The agonistic bioanalytical equivalent concentration: A novel tool for assessing the endocrine activity of environmental mixtures.

Cell-based bioassays are very sensitive and allow integrative effect screening of the whole environmental sample, which is usually composed of a mixture of agonists and antagonists. Measured toxicity is usually expressed as a bioanalytical equivalent concentration. So far, it is not possible to distinguish which part of this value is caused by the agonists and which by the antagonists. In this article, we present a simple method to analyze the dose-response curve of a mixture and to determine an agonistic bioanalytical equivalent concentration: a concentration of a reference chemical that would elicit the same effect as do only agonists in an unknown mixture. The method has been validated using several artificially prepared mixtures of agonists and competitive antagonists measured in a recombinant yeast assay. No difference was observed between the calculated equivalent concentrations and the used concentrations of the agonist in the mixture.

Evaluation of estrogenic and antiestrogenic activity in sludge and explanation of individual compound contributions.

Mixture toxicity, including agonistic and antagonistic effects, is an unrevealed environmental problem. Estrogenic endocrine disruptors are known to cause adverse effects for aquatic biota, but causative chemicals and their contributions to the total activity in sewage sludge remain unknown. Therefore, advanced analytical methods, a yeast bioassay and mixture toxicity models were concurrently applied for the characterization of 8 selected sludges with delectable estrogenic activity (and 3 sludges with no activity as blanks) out of 25 samples from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The first applied full logistic model adequately explained total activity by considering the concentrations of the monitored compounds. The results showed that the activity was primarily caused by natural estrogens in municipal WWTP sludge. Nevertheless, activity in a sample originating from a car-wash facility was dominantly caused by partial agonists - nonylphenols - and only a model enabling prediction of all dose-response curve parameters of the final mixture curve explained these results. Antiestrogenic effects were negligible, and effect-directed analysis identified the causative chemicals.

Combinations of a full and partial agonist: Experimental evidence of curved isoboles.

Concentration addition as a classic null model for toxicology and pharmacology is based on Loewe's mathematical formulation and the linearity of the isoboles. Novel mathematical models, however, propose curved isoboles in certain conditions. This article aims to test the hypothesis of the curvature of isoboles in experimental measurements. With the assumption of linear isoboles, a partial agonist acts as an antagonist above its maximal effect level. The isoboles automatically convert to a positive slope. For curved isoboles, a partial agonist acts as an antagonist at higher effect levels than its maximal effect alone. The discrepancies between effect levels were studied with an estrogen receptor binding assay (BMAEREluc/ERα) using a mixture of 17ß-estradiol and fulvestrant as a partial agonist. A mixture of 17ß-estradiol and fulvestrant acts as a partial agonist and causes the diminishing of the effect level of 17ß-estradiol at a significantly higher level than the maximal effect of their partial-agonistic dose-response curve. Measured, elevated effect levels were well predicted by the mathematical model. Nonlinear isoboles may change our understanding and definition of synergism or antagonism and prompt further attention in receptor theory.

Estimation of competitive antagonist affinity by the Schild method and from functional inhibition curves using a novel form of the Gaddum equation.

The equilibrium dissociation constant of competitive antagonists represents the affinity of the receptor-ligand interaction, and it is a key characteristic of many therapeutic drugs or toxic compounds. Two commonly used methods by which the affinity of the antagonist can be estimated are Schild analysis and the Cheng-Prusoff method. However, both methods yield different results when applied to systems with slopes not equal to one. The Gaddum equation, which is fundamental for both methods, should be extended to incorporate the slope parameter of the dose-response curves and this extension should diminish the differences between the Schild and Cheng-Prusoff methods. In this study, we derived a novel form of the Gaddum equation with a slope parameter (Hill coefficient) of agonist dose-response curve. We also derived the subsequent equations for Schild and Cheng-Prusoff analysis and we validated the proposed model by the measurement of several known estrogen receptor competitive antagonists. Standardized in vitro yeast reporter gene assay (BMAEREluc/ERα) has been used for the measurements and the range of used antagonist concentrations was 1.37-46.03 µM. By applying our mathematical model, both Schild and Cheng-Prusoff methods provide more similar values of antagonist affinity than the original mathematical approach. The correctness of the model has also been demonstrated by the measurement of a partial agonist with a known receptor affinity. The presented mathematical model significantly reduces the differences in values calculated by the Cheng-Prusoff and Schild methods and yields more accurate estimations of antagonist affinity.

Assessment of agonistic and antagonistic properties of widely used oral care antimicrobial substances toward steroid estrogenic and androgenic receptors.

Personal care product consumption has increased in the last decades. A typical representative ingredient, i.e., triclosan, was identified in the scientific literature as an endocrine disruptor, and its use is restricted in several applications. Oral hygiene formulations contain various compounds, including synthetic phenol derivatives, quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), various amides and amines, or natural essential oils containing terpenes. The aim of this paper was to explore possible endocrine-disrupting effects of these most-used compounds. For this purpose, two different assays based on recombinant yeast (BMAEREluc/ERα; BMAEREluc/AR) and human cell lines (T47D; AIZ-AR) were employed to investigate the agonistic and antagonistic properties of these compounds on human estrogen and androgen receptors. The results showed that none of the compounds were indicated as agonists of the steroid receptors. However, octenidine (OCT, QAC-like) and hexadecylpyridinium (HDP, QAC) were able to completely inhibit both androgenic (IC50 OCT = 0.84 µM; IC50 HDP = 1.66 µM) and estrogenic (IC50 OCT = 0.50 µM; IC50 HDP = 1.64 µM) signaling pathways in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, chlorhexidine was found to inhibit the 17ß-estradiol response, with a similar IC50 (2.9 µM). In contrast, the natural terpenes thymol and menthol were found to be competitive antagonists of the receptors; however, their IC50 values were higher (by orders of magnitude). We tried to estimate the risk associated with the presence of these compounds in environmental matrices by calculating hazard quotients (HQs), and the calculated HQs were found to be close to or greater than 1 only when predicted environmental concentrations were used for surface waters.

New insight into isobolographic analysis for combinations of a full and partial agonist: Curved isoboles.

Receptor ligands in mixtures may produce effects that are greater than the effect predicted from their individual dose-response curves. The historical basis for predicting the mixture effect is based on Loewe's concept and its mathematical formulation. This concept considers compounds with constant relative potencies (parallel dose-response curves) and leads to linear additive isoboles. These lines serve as references for distinguishing additive from nonadditive interactions according to the positions of the experimental data on or outside of the lines. In this paper, we applied a highly relevant two-state model for a description of the receptor-ligand interaction in the construction of the isobologram. In our model we consider partial agonists that have dose-response curve slopes differing from one. With this theoretical basis, we demonstrated that a combination of compounds with different efficacies leads to curved isoboles. This model should overwrite Tallarida's flawed assumption about isobolographic analysis of partial agonists and enhance our understanding of how the partial agonists contribute to the overall mixture effect.

Receptor partial agonism and method to express receptor partial activation with respect to novel Full Logistic Model of mixture toxicology.

Living organisms interact with various chemical compounds via receptors, which is described by the receptor theory. The affinity of the biologically active compounds toward receptors and their ability to trigger a biological or toxic signal vary substantially. In this work, we describe a new insight into understanding of the mode of action of receptor partial agonists and the receptor theory using a Full Logistic Model (FLM) of mixture toxicology. We describe the hypothesis that the effect of a partial agonist can be mathematically described via separation of agonistic and antagonistic behavior of the partial agonist where the antagonistic effect is described as an action of the compound producing zero effect. In this way, a competitive antagonist can be considered as an agonist with zero effect. This idea is also placed into a context with classical concepts, e.g., Gaddum's equation. Using the assumption that competitive antagonists are agonists with no effect, equations describing the microscopic and macroscopic equilibrium constants have been derived. Accordingly, we show that the constants could be calculated from the measured partial agonistic dose-response curve. As a consequence, we provide a simple mathematical tool for comparison of dose-response curves of drugs according to their affinities and efficacies.

Biodegradation of endocrine disruptors in urban wastewater using Pleurotus ostreatus bioreactor.

The white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus HK 35, which is also an edible industrial mushroom commonly cultivated in farms, was tested in the degradation of typical representatives of endocrine disrupters (EDCs; bisphenol A, estrone, 17ß-estradiol, estriol, 17α-ethinylestradiol, triclosan and 4-n-nonylphenol); its degradation efficiency under model laboratory conditions was greater than 90% within 12 days and better than that of another published strain P. ostreatus 3004. A spent mushroom substrate from a local farm was tested for its applicability in various batch and trickle-bed reactors in degrading EDCs in model fortified and real communal wastewater. The reactors were tested under various regimes including a pilot-scale trickle-bed reactor, which was finally tested at a wastewater treatment plant. The result revealed that the spent substrate is an efficient biodegradation agent, where the fungus was usually able to remove about 95% of EDCs together with suppression of the estrogenic activity of the sample. The results showed the fungus was able to operate in the presence of bacterial microflora in wastewater without any substantial negative effects on the degradation abilities. Finally, a pilot-scale trickle-bed reactor was installed in a wastewater treatment plant and successfully operated for 10days, where the bioreactor was able to remove more than 76% of EDCs present in the wastewater.

Novel full logistic model for estimation of the estrogenic activity of chemical mixtures.

Estrogenic compounds as well as other biologically active substances are commonly present in the form of complex mixtures in the environment. There is still no satisfactory model that would be capable of predicting the toxic effects of mixtures containing partial receptor agonists and compounds with different parameters of their dose-response curves. Therefore, a novel Full Logistic Model (FLM) of prediction using all the parameters of dose-response curves has been suggested and compared with previously published approaches. We tested the receptor-binding activities of selected estrogens including full and partial agonists and their mixtures using yeast reporter gene assays and the human T47D cell line. Combination effects were modeled with FLM and predicted curves were compared with the data obtained experimentally. FLM yielded a good fit to the experimental data from both the receptor-binding assays and gave better predictions than the previously published approaches. FLM also provided satisfactory results regarding final partial agonistic dose-response curves with maximum influenced by the inhibitory effect of the partial agonist. FLM is not limited by any simplification like the toxic equivalency factor approach or generalized concentration addition and therefore it could be employed for mixtures containing chemicals with different parameters of their dose-response curves (maximum, minimum, inflex point or slope).

Widely used pharmaceuticals present in the environment revealed as in vitro antagonists for human estrogen and androgen receptors.

A considerable amount of scientific evidence indicates that a number of pharmaceuticals that could be detected in the environment can contribute towards the development of problems associated with human reproductive systems, as well as those of wildlife. We investigated the estrogenic and androgenic effects of select pharmaceuticals with high production volume and environmental relevance. We examined the receptor-binding activities of these pharmaceuticals in the T47D human cell line using altered secretion of cytokine CXCL12. Functional yeast-luciferase reporter gene assays were also employed to confirm the mechanism of receptor binding by estrogen and androgen. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, namely ibuprofen, diclofenac and antiarrhythmic agent amiodarone showed strong anti-estrogenic effects in the T47D cell line. In the yeast-luciferase assay, these anti-inflammatory drugs also demonstrated anti-estrogenic potency and inhibited the E2 response in a concentration-dependent manner. Amiodarone did not exhibit any response in the yeast-luciferase assay; therefore, the endocrine disruption presumably occurred at a different level without directly involving the receptor. All the anti-inflammatory drugs considered in this study, including ketoprofen, naproxen and clofibrate, exhibited a dose-dependent antagonism towards the androgen receptor in the yeast-luciferase assays. Several other drugs, including the stimulant caffeine, did not show any response in the tests that were employed. A risk assessment analysis using 'Hazard Quotient' suggested a potential risk, especially in the cases of ibuprofen, ketoprofen, diclofenac and clofibrate. The results reveal the intrinsic endocrine disrupting nature of several pharmaceuticals and thus could contribute towards explaining a number of adverse health effects on humans and wildlife.

Mechanistic study of 17α-ethinylestradiol biodegradation by Pleurotus ostreatus: tracking of extracelullar and intracelullar degradation mechanisms.

The white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus is able to completely remove the synthetic hormone 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2, 200 µg in 20 mL) from a liquid complex or mineral medium in 3 or 14 days, respectively. Its efficiency has also been documented in the removal of estrogenic activity that correlated with the EE2 degradation. A set of in vitro experiments using various cellular and enzyme fractions has been performed and the results showed that EE2 was degraded by isolated laccase (about 90% within 24 h). The degradation was also tested with concentrated extracellular liquid where degradation reached 50% mainly due to the laccase activity; however, after a supplementation with H2O2 and Mn²âº, residual manganese-dependent peroxidase activities (40 times lower than Lac) raised the degradation to 100%. Moreover, the intracellular fraction and also laccase-like activity associated with fungal mycelium were found to be efficient in the degradation too. Isolated microsomal proteins appeared to also be involved in the process. The degradation was completely suppressed in the presence of cytochrome P-450 inhibitors, piperonylbutoxide and carbon monoxide, indicating a role of this monooxygenase in the degradation process. Attention was also paid to monitoring of changes in the estrogenic activity during these particular in vitro experiments when mainly degradations related to ligninolytic enzymes were found to decrease the estrogenic activity with EE2 removal proportionally. Several novel metabolites of EE2 were detected using different chromatographic method with mass spectrometric techniques (LC-MS, GC-MS) including also [¹³C]-labeled substrates. The results document the involvement of various different simultaneous mechanisms in the EE2 degradation by P. ostreatus by both the ligninolytic system and the eukaryotic machinery of cytochromes P-450.